About 6 months ago I set out to make this the best year yet. I made a ton of goals, graduated from my master’s program, and decided to start focusing on growing my social media and forming a personal brand. While this is all well and good, I have completely lost touch with my inner me. You see, it’s so easy to get caught up in the physical and visible parts of ourselves (our bodies, our school work, our social media accounts, our friends) these things provide us with direct results and satisfaction. We can see ourselves getting what we want, and it feels amazing. However, it eventually won’t mean that much if you aren’t working on self-love too.

What is self-love? It’s what I like to think of as a combo of self-awareness and appreciation. According to google, it’s the regard for one’s own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic). Why is this important? You truly cannot find true happiness, love, and connection without it. A lack of self-love will result in difficulty in areas of confidence, relationships, success, and so much more. You may be in a relationship, you may have great success, but you will not feel connected to them.

For me, this neglect towards myself has caused me to feel a little lost, sad, anxious, and insecure. I have noticed that I have been constantly seeking validation from everyone and everything around me and feeling devastated when I don’t receive it. Why am I desperately looking for this validation? Because I’m not giving it to myself. So simple. I promised myself that I would focus on the relationship I have with myself for the remainder of this year, and will hopefully create rituals and habits that I will carry with me forever.

I have been living for my morning routine lately. It’s the perfect blend of productive action, and relaxed self-care. I like to change up my routine every now and then, but I always come back to these basics, because they work best. I love this routine, because it gives me enough energy and motivation to drive me through my day. Also, it’s filled with healthy hacks to make sure I’m starting my mind and body off on the right foot. So, if you’re looking to spruce up your routine, or are wanting to start over completely- give this one a try.

*** I filmed my morning routine for my Youtube channel, check it out by clicking the URL below***

To continue onto the last post I am sharing a few savory snack recipes that are sure to fill you up! They are all vegan, healthy, and packed with flavor. As I have mentioned- I am usually a sweet gal, and Wyatt is all about the savory goods. It can create quite a debate when it comes to whipping up something to snack on. However, these have been a go-to lately.

Making your own snacks is a great way to avoid eating a lot of processed foods. These recipes are easy as they take 4-25 minutes to make! You can even make them as part of your meal prep and have them ready to go throughout the week.

I have a huge sweet tooth. I can’t even recall a time where I didn’t end the day with dessert. It’s my thing. However, my fitness goals (aka abs of steel) don’t really allow me to indulge on the daily. So, it has become my mission to create healthy, vegan, and gluten free sweets that align perfectly with my goals. So if you’re in the same boat as I am, and find yourself dreaming of cake and cookies- Don’t fret because I have everything you need in this post. There is a recipe for everyone! I posted this on my Youtube— check it out HERE

For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with anxiety and stress. In elementary school, I struggled taking tests, being away from my parents for longer than a few days, and being in new places. I remember when anxiety would pop up as a kid- I would immediately start crying. I had no way of communicating to others what I was feeling, but I knew I hated it. Eventually my anxiety subsided, and I would continue on thinking I just had a stomach ache or something. I was fortunate enough to experience anxiety in waves. There were times/years even where I experienced little to none, but when it did hit- it would hit hard and for long periods of time. My second big round of anxiety was in high school. My anxiety was so bad that I struggled to get to school in the morning. I would wake up and immediately throw up, break out in panic sweats, get tunnel vision, and shake profusely. I missed a lot of school, which did not help when I had days where I would drag myself to school. Because I was missing so much school- I was behind, and it was a big anxiety trigger for me to be sitting in class and have zero idea of what anyone was doing. It didn’t matter how many friends I had- I felt completely alone. Eventually, my parents put me in therapy, and finally I had someone I could talk with who knew exactly what I was going through, and would provide guidance on how to get through it. The best part- I suddenly had a name for this thing that had taken up so much of my life. I felt such relief to be able to say, “I have anxiety.” or “This is an anxiety attack.” My time with my therapist is definitely one of the biggest reasons I have become a therapist, and love working with the adolescent population so much.

Overtime, I learned to prevent and manage my anxiety, but as I got older- I also had to learn how to know and understand my anxiety triggers. For a while, I ignored them, and would run myself into the ground-ignoring my building stress until I would break. This resulted in a panic attack. Panic attacks are the absolute worst. I honestly thought I was having a heart attack and called 911. When the responder told me I was having a panic attack, I was mortified. Panic attacks/ anxiety attacks leave you feeling drained, embarrassed, isolated, and scared. It’s tough, and I deeply feel for anyone who experiences them.

For a few years now I haven’t had panic attacks, and have only had anxiety for a few days here and there. When I do get anxiety, I am able to work through it and for the most part continue to do my day as planned. It’s all thanks to these tips and tricks. I have worked for years to find what helps me work through times of stress and anxiety, and have found ways that help me avoid having spells of anxiety. I decided to share these with you all! I’ve also included things that I have learned to use with my clients : ]

Guys, I am on a high right now. You know that feeling where it feels like you are literally unstoppable, and that anything could happen? That’s what I’m feeling. However, a few weeks ago I didn’t feel this way at all. In fact, I felt the opposite. Not to sound too dramatic, but it felt like I was just floating through life. Like, I would drive from point A to point B and not even know how I got there. I just felt this overall sense of blah. The worst part, I had a list of goals that I wanted to achieve, but hadn’t really been taking them that seriously, which is totally unlike me. I knew changes had to be made. I needed a re-vamp on my life, and stat. Thus, project Girl Boss was born.

I feel like it has been way too long since I have las posted! I have been traveling a lot, and spending time on a few other projects, but I am here with some nifty information. I don’t know about you- but my skin seems to freak out in the summer. I’m not sure if it’s all of the traveling or the weather, but my skin takes a complete 180. Normally, I have combination skin that tends to lean toward the dry side. I get my fair share of breakouts, but they are manageable.

However, in the summer it’s a constant struggle to keep my skin from completely falling apart. I struggle with oil, texture, tough breakouts, and tone. It’s so frustrating because I get my rouine down, and then have to start from scratch. Well, I am happy to report that I planned in advance this year, and have not had these issues at all this summer! Yay! So, I want to share my tips and tricks with you guys.

So who here loves donuts? If you said “hell yeah” then this post is for you. I decided it would be fun to find three completely different donut recipes, and make them my own. I changed the ingredients to be completely vegan and created toppings that would be healthy-well, healthier ; ) (my adaptations will be written within the recipes.)

The first was a raw vegan donut. This was easily the easiest recipe to make, and took me about ten minutes total. This recipe was really similar to my raw cookie dough recipe. I would say this is more like a cookie dough texture than cake, but still soo yummy.

The second was a vanilla cake donut. This had a much stronger cinnamon flavor than anticipated. It has a great texture, but far more dense than a regular cake donut. You could sub almond flour and get a more cake like texture.

The third is by far the recipe that most resembles a non- vegan donut. It is cakey, thick, and soft. I didn’t adapt too much on this recipe as I wanted to include one that was a more decadent choice.

The toppings were my own creation. I wanted to keep them as simple as possible. In order to get the glazes to harden on the donuts- I placed them in the refrigerator for 10 min once they cooled.

Boyfriend review: Wyatt preferred the raw donut over the other two. He loved the unique ingredients in the chocolate donut, and is now wanting to put aquafaba in everything haha

To make the dough: grind all the ingredients into a thick, moist dough in a high speed blender or food processor. This may take several minutes. If it’s still too crumbly, add some more dates or a tablespoon of coconut oil or water. Roll into balls and put in the freezer until cold and firm, around 20 minutes.

Well, our trip to Hawaii is officially over. We had the best time in Oahu! I am so absolutely thankful for all that we were able to do on this trip. We were so lucky and had the best weather while we were there. It didn’t rain until the day we left, which is so fortunate because we had a jam packed schedule.

There were a few things that made our trip do-able, and I want to share them with you. First, we stayed in an AirBnB in a central location. Our AirBnB was located near Moana Falls, which means it was located up in the mountainous area. I loved it! It was so nice to spend the day in the more touristy parts, and then go back to our quiet oasis. Second, we rented a jeep the whole time we were there. Honestly, this made our trip possible. We would have spent a lot of money trying to uber everywhere we wanted to go. Not to mention, it makes the trip a lot more enjoyable to be able to control how and when you go somewhere. Third, we did some of our own food shopping while we were there, which helped us stay consistent with eating healthy, saved money, and was convenient when we knew we were going to be hiking or at the beach all day.

I have been trying to think how to best write this blog, and I have decided to break it up in categories:

We’ve all been there. We’re fighting with a boyfriend, a friend, family, or ourselves. We are so certain our perspective is not only right, but has to be true. Rarely, do we ask why. Why are you feeling this way? What belief do you have that is driving this reaction? Furthermore, it is extremely rare that we ask ourselves “What if what I believe is wrong?” In addition, when something isn’t working whether it’s in your professional or personal life we rarely ask, “What is it I’m doing wrong?” “What can I do differently next time?” It’s essential that we ask ourselves these questions. It’s essential that we accept that we just don’t know it all. If not, you are holding yourself back from growing, and eventually getting whatever it is that you are working toward.

Your feelings are a result of someone else and their actions.

Have you ever had your heart broken? It sucks. It’s easy to fall into the habit of blaming the person who hurt you. “I’m hurt by what (Insert name) did to me.” We blame and live in a state of sadness or anger and think “One day I’ll be ok and get over this.” The issue here is you are placing the responsibility entirely on the other person. Responsibility for what happened, and responsibility how you are now. Now this may be harsh, but that’s 100% wrong. You are responsible for your feelings, and what you do with them. Next time you are thinking, “Ugh what they did sucks and I am so hurt because of it.” Stop, and ask yourself what it is that has struck this feeling in you. Most likely, it is because what has happened has distorted your reality in some way. Maybe it’s that you are valuing the wrong things at that time. Take responsibility for how you feel, and if you don’t like it- take steps to change it.

Overnight success is a thing, and is pretty common.

Thanks to the media we have this false idea that people reach ultimate success overnight. This belief is propelled even further because of social media. We only see the success of others. It’s pretty rare that we see stories of people and their failed companies. However, we see the stories of people who launch a company and suddenly they’re millionaires. There is no one, and I repeat no one that is great at anything that hasn’t failed at that very thing before. If you see someone doing something at the level you want to be at know that it simply means they have failed at that one thing more than you. Rest assured that by continuing to fail, adapt, and try again that you are on the track to success. What success really needs is failure, growth, persistence, and time.

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About Me

I’m a 20 something Florida girl, born and raised in Tampa. I recently received a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy. I love plant-based foods, cafés, and helping others find inner peace. I plan on using this blog as a creative outlet to share my passion for food, travel, mental health, fitness, lifestyle, and beauty. Learn more.

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